Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Snub Week
The Song of the Day is:
Dolly Parton – “Here You Come Again”
From the album Here You Come Again (1977)
Here you come again
Just when I’ve begun to get myself together
You waltz right in the door
Just like you’ve done before
And wrap my heart ’round your little finger
Barry Mann – Cynthia Weil
*K.’s Pick
Is this the most pressing omission from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame? No. By any means, no. Dolly Parton is a country artist, and pretty solidly rooted in that genre. I’m not saying that she is the next person on the list to be inducted, but she could warrant consideration. As it stands, the Hall has largely ignored country music and its influence on the rock genre. Johnny Cash is in, rightfully, as a full member who was subjected to a vote. He’s the only country musician who was subjected to a wide-field vote. Aside from him, Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams, Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys and Bill Monroe are inducted as Early Influences. It would seem that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame doesn’t think that any women of country music have had an impact on rock and roll. It is my summation that the Hall should be more considerate of its country cousins. Firstly, the Carter Family should damn well be an Early Influence inductee. Following that, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson, Loretta Lynn, Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard, Emmylou Harris and Kris Kristofferson have all had careers with wide arrays of style and influences. Additionally, the late John Prine and Gram Parsons have been considered, but should be worthy of additional attempts for entry to the Hall. Now that I’ve prefaced her path, I do say that Dolly Parton would be a good choice for consideration, and seeing that she is still living, performing and iconic, she would be a welcome presence on the ceremony stage. Parton was one of the first main crossover stars of country music to pop music, an ambassador for her genre. It’s conceivable that Garth Brooks, Shania Twain, Taylor Swift, and Miley Cyrus would have never been able to make the leap to a wider audience without Dolly’s trailblazing. That’s not to mention all the artists, including Kid Rock, Sheryl Crow, Darius Rucker and Steven Tyler, who have leapt from rock into country music (namedrop Lil Nas X here). Dolly embraced the glamorous side of country, full of rhinestones, glitter and big hair. She was a popular actress and personality across the nation, and she did manage to score a couple number one pop hits with “9 to 5” and “Islands in the Stream (w/ Kenny Rogers). Today’s song, “Here You Come Again”, can barely be considered country music, save a steel guitar. This song was written by brill building super-couple Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil (who are in the Hall of Fame) and could just have easily been a Linda Ronstadt soft rock song. This song was the centerpiece of Parton’s successful crossover attempt and it landed at number three on the pop charts (her highest position at that point). She started the 1970’s as the appealing duet partner of Porter Wagoner and she ended it as a megastar. Additionally, she wrote and originally performed “I Will Always Love You”, one of the highest selling singles of the rock and roll era, as performed by this year’s inductee Whitney Houston. It’s possible that when this year’ ceremony does eventually take place, Parton could make an appearance on Houston’s behalf, thus stoking interest in her own consideration. On an aside, for her charitable endeavors, I think she should be continuously praised. She’s a superstar, an innovator, a first rate songwriter and performer and worthy of consideration.
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